Kiera Wilmot, a 16-year-old student at Bartow High School, let curiosity get the best of her and mixed together household chemicals in a small water bottle while on school property. The top of the water bottle popped off, smoke billowed out and a small explosion occurred. She now faces felony charges.

Wilmot, who’s known for her good grades and untarnished school record, was arrested on Monday and charged with possession and discharge of a weapon on school property and discharging a destructive device.

She has been expelled and has to finish her education through an expulsion program.

“She made a bad choice. Honestly, I don’t think she meant to ever hurt anyone,” said principal Ron Pritchard. “She wanted to see what would happen [when the chemicals mixed] and was shocked by what it did.”

A classmate says the explosion was a science experiment gone wrong.

“I heard she didn’t want to hurt anyone at all,” said Dynequa Price. “It was a science project.”

Pritchard says he had a long talk with Wilmot, who was honest about the whole situation and did not run or try to hide the truth. He doesn’t think Wilmot should be so severely punished, but members of the Polk County School Board disagree.

“Anytime a student makes a bad choice it is disappointing to us. Unfortunately, the incident that occurred at Bartow High School yesterday was a serious breach of conduct. In order to maintain a safe and orderly learning environment, we simply must uphold our code of conduct rules. We urge our parents to join us in conveying the message that there are consequences to actions. We will not compromise the safety and security of our students and staff.”

Really? Does anyone else think this is a huge overreaction? No one was hurt and there were no damages to school property. It doesn’t seem like Wilmot had any intention of blowing up the school or hurting anyone. She now has felony charges against her and could face jail time. Plus, she has to spend the rest of her high school career in an expulsion program?

Is it just me or does the school board need to exercise some common sense?